The Straight Dope 02/11/2005

The Straight Dope -- By Cecil Adams
http://www.straightdope.com

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THE STRAIGHT DOPE 02/11/2005

Dear Cecil:

What happened to Hitler's family? I know he had no siblings but surely
there must have been others with the unfortunate surname. Were they
persecuted or driven out of Germany/Austria? --Marc Ghafoor, via
e-mail

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Cecil replies:

What this tells you I don't know, but the rest of the world has shown a
lot more interest in Adolf's relatives than Americans have. Historian
Timothy Ryback brought the highbrows up to speed with a 2000 New Yorker
article on the Hitler clan, but, U.S. tabloids having neglected the
subject, ignorance remains high among the masses, including, if I may
say so, you. 

For more, see:
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/050211.html

STRAIGHT DOPE CLASSIC #1 -  02/14/1986

Dear Cecil:

A question have I To which I hope you reply. 'Tis a question that over
the years Has really not brought me to tears. But since it is rapidly
approaching, that is, Valentine's Day, I thought I'd pose this question
to you, if I may. The question regards the shape of the heart, not the
one in the bod, But the two-lobed kind, as on any V-day card. These
stylized hearts bear no resemblance, as far as I can see, To the real
organ of our anatomy. My guess as to where this shape did arise, Has to
do with a particular slant of one's eyes When gazing upon certain
portions of a woman's physique, One sees many roundnesses to a female
unique. It's these curvaceous boundaries that I imagine did inspire The
symbolic heart's shape in someone's imagination to fire But who was this
person and when did it occur To create a heart full of symmetric allure?
Thank you, Cecil, for putting up with my verse; In prose my question
would've been much more terse. But would prose do justice to this
heartfelt question of mine? Hard to say; nonetheless, Cecil, will you be
my valentine? --Ross Y., Madison, Wisconsin  

Cecil replies:  If you think I'm going to answer this in verse, Ross, you're
crazy. I've been able to trace the heart symbol as far back as the 1400s, 
when it was first used as a suit designation on playing cards, and I'm sure
it goes back a lot earlier than that. 

For more, see: 
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_146.html

STRAIGHT DOPE CLASSIC #2 - 08/16/1974

Dear Cecil: 

My boyfriend and I need some answers. You're the only one we can turn
to. Please don't think we're weird. (1) Does taking a hot bath (120
degrees) kill sperm? He says he'll be sterile for a month. (2) Can
blowing air into the vagina during oral sex really cause an air embolism
and sudden death, as per Joy of Sex? --Francine M., Chicago  

Dear Francine: 

I don't think you're weird, sweetie, but you might want to keep an eye
on that boyfriend of yours. The mobility of sperm is reduced at
temperatures above 104 degrees or so, and "spermatogenesis"--the
creation of new sperm--is slowed. But the effect is brief--maybe half an
hour, a researcher at the Masters and Johnson Institute guesses--and it
certainly doesn't affect all the sperm. Remember, it only takes one to
get you pregnant. Hot baths are not recommended as a method of
contraception, and they certainly won't make a male sterile for a month. 

For more, see:
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_210.html

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